A Young Boy's Requiem:The Soviet-American War
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: (On The Gallian Front AU) A young boy from our world's 2017 winds up in an alternate universe very similar, but also very different to his own. New countries, an expanded US and a war like he has never seen await him, with wonders and nightmares, new friends and strange foes alike. How will Adrian Marasti survive this campaign through Alaska and how will he adapt?
1. Prologue:Anchorage Awaits

**_AN:So, this story idea came up to me... A while ago._**

 ** _It's gonna be interesting, so trust me when I start telling it. Ask Heinkelboy05 about the idea behind it and who all of the people are supposed to be here._**

* * *

 ** _A Young One's Requiem:The Soviet-American War_**

 ** _Chapter 1:Waking up to Hell..._**

Darkness greeted the eyes of one young boy. A cold wind rushed across his face and on his palms and back, he could feel an ice-cold sheet of snow. The boy's eyes struggled to open, to a grayish sky. His dark-green eyes slowly shifted around as he let out ragged breaths. The boy pushed himself and straightened up, then looked around him, to see a thick layer of snow surrounding him. He gasped and stood up, then looked about. Examining himself, he was clad in his usual clothing. The N7 hoodie from the Mass Effect memorabilia, his blue jeans and sneakers, as well as his shirt underneath the Hoodie. The boy looked around the snowy ground, for any sign of the weapon he'd taken, when he saw it...

Metal and wood body, with a skeleton stock, the Romanian-made AKM lay on the ground. A modernized version of the AK-47 Soviet assault rifle, it was a handy weapon and quite deadly, while also very reliable. Picking it up off the ground and pushing snow off its receiver. The boy cocked the weapon's bolt back slightly, looking inside to see that the magazine was still full, if not one bullet less...

He sighed, then looked around at the icy wasteland that surrounded him and sighed, then murmured "Hell of a mess you got yourself into, Adrian..." his gaze locking onto a small road, with tracks on it and a sign. Walking toward it, the boy could see that whatever the city was, it'd been scraped over by either a knife or something else. On it, he found his glasses, which were hnaging loosely, but they were still okay. He placed them over his eyes and sighed, then shivered as the cold winds of winter swept over him. He exhaled, his steamy breath escaping from his mouth, then looked to the distance to the town...

"A kilometer... If I can last through walking in this cold, sure..." He murmured to himself, then, looking on the floor beside the sign pole, he saw another weapon... In a holster, an M1911 Colt pistol was laid to rest. The boy grabbed the cold leather holster and the gun off the ground and clipped them to his belt, then withdrew the pistol from the holster and cocked the bolt back slightly, to see ammo still present within the clip. The gun felt heavy, so that meant all rounds were inside. He sighed, holstered the gun, then said "Looks like my luck is holding..." And he smirked, then slid his hood over his head, rifle on his back by the leather strap and put his hands in his pockets, then he started walking down the road.

Nearly an hour later, the boy found himself at the outskirts of a small city, his eyes locked on smoke columns trailing into the dark clouds around. The buildings around him looked old, but also somewhat new... Inter-bellic period maybe? Between the two World Wars? Either way, their roofs were also covered with snow, so that meant a snowstorm had fallen earlier today... The boy sniffed the air and a strange, sour smell attacked his nostrils. He covered his mouth, then sighed and continued walking. The deeper he got into town, the more damaged its buildings were. He slowly walked, then started calling "Hello?! Anyone alive here? Your town looks like a hurricane just hit it!" And he sighed, receiving no answer.

A thought occurred to him that if he tried once and no answer came around, it'd be worthless trying to call again. He drew his M1911, then started walking through the place, both hands on the gun and at the ready. The buildings turned to rubble partway into the town and, as he got to a town square with a bridge nearby, the boy could see it... Bloodied snow, a sea of crimson, along with the dead bodies of soldiers, weapons beside them... The boy sniffed again and the rancid smell yet again came to him, making him cover his mouth and nose.

The boy slowly walked toward one of the soldiers, who was clad in a tan uniform, with no camouflage patterns. On his shoulder there was a badge with a bald eagle crest and, above it, was written AIRBORNE in bold golden letters. The boy slung the pistol onto his hip, then pulled the man over by his chest rig, which looked like a classic World War 2 set of gear and saw his face... The man looked mangled, spit and blood dripping off his bloating face, his eyes yellow with strange blue goop dripping out of them, his mouth wide. On his head resided a green American M2 Helmet with netting over it and beside him, his weapon of choice. An American Thompson Sub machine gun...

"Christ almighty..." The boy murmured, keeping his mouth and face covered by his hand. "The fuck happened to this reenactment group?"

"Hold it right there! Drop your guns before we drop you!" He heard a boy's voice cry as weapons cocked all around him. The boy froze, his eyes wide, pupils narrowed... He saw the barrels of the weapons poking out of the darkness and from the buildings and gasped, throwing aside his AKM and pistol into the snow, then immediately raising his hands and crying "DON'T SHOOT! PLEASE!"

Out of the buildings came four young soldiers, their weapons, old World War 2 rifles and SMGs, trained on him. Their leader, a boy that couldn't be any older than him, had his Trench Gun aimed for him, sharp bayonet pointing at the stomach. Adrian swallowed, then thought to himself as cold sweat dripped down his brow ' _What the fuck happened to me?! Where in God's name did I end up!?'_

"One word of Russian out of you and you're swiss cheese, pal." The leader said, narrowed pupils peering down the shotgun's iron sights. The boy nodded, confused, then started murmuring to himself in Romanian " _Să vedem... Uniforme ale diviziei 101 din al doilea război mondial... Arme... Vorbesc în Engleză... Fie am ajuns în fața unui grup foarte dedicat de Role-Playeri și reenactment, fie... A doua variantă îmi scapă..._ _Is the chick Lara CROFT?!'_ noticing her defining features, the boy got a little excited at the sight, a slight grin on his face.

The boy saw the Paratrooper kids' leader become a little less tense as he lowered his shotgun, his eyes going back to normal. He raised his hand and showed the other kids, of which a GIRL, to lower their guns, which they reluctantly did. The leader looked him in the eye, then asked, his blue eyes glaring daggers, "What the hell is a Romanian doing all the way in Alaska?" to which Adrian's eyes widened... Fucking _Alaska?!_

"Much more, dressed like someone fresh out of a circus..." The girl said, her SMG by her hip as she walked up beside the boy. "Who are you?"

"M-Ma'am... My name is Adrian Marasti. Born in Bucharest, currently aged 16." The boy answered, his eyes still wide over the 'Alaska' part. He looked to the leader, then asked "Y-You said this was Alaska... W-What day, month and year is it we're in?"

"Late February of 1932." He said, to which Adrian staggered back, staring at the floor and shivering "19... 1932... No way... It was 2017 when I was last awake... H-hey... Can I let my arms down? They're hurting..." He then finalized as his arms trembled. The leader motioned to him to do so, making the boy sigh in relief as his arms slumped by his hips. He rubbed his shoulders, then looked to the soldier-boy.

"2017?" The girl and boy ahead of him said, looking at each other with weird glances. The boy looked to Adrian, then said "Listen, pal, I don't know what happened to you or how you survived the Commies' gas attacks, but we've been in 1932 for a good 2 months now and I'm pretty sure I can tell the time. "

"Wait, wait. You're fighting the Commies as in RUSSIANS? And the whole dead Paratrooper division here is... By gassing?" The boy asked. So many questions, so little time... The leader nodded, then said "Yeah. Who else?" Before a boy rushed toward them, handing the leader a radio. He placed it by his ear and asked "What's the situation?" and his eyes widened. "Shit. Russian platoon incoming! Everyone, gear the hell up and head for the bridge! We need to hold'em off!" And he looked to Adrian, then said "Get somewhere safe, stay put while we finish off here."

"No way! I'm here, I'm fighting!" The boy said, taking a step ahead. The soldier walked up to him, then grabbed him by the collar and said "No way. You're a civilian. You'd get in the way and get either yourself or one of us killed!" Before Adrian shoved his hand away and jabbed a finger at him, then said "This is the Reds we're speaking of here! You'll need all hands on deck, even a civilian like me!" He pointed to the AKM on the floor, then said "I fired that before! And a couple of other guns too!"

"Jack's right. You'd just get in the way!" She stated in a thick British accent, wrapping both hands around her SMG. Adrian raised his hand, index finger up, basically telling her to shut up, then said "Don't start with me, Tomb Raider. This is between me and the bossman." To which the girl raised her brow in confusion, while Adrian and the leader kept staring each other down. The boy's dark-green eyes felt like they were piercing the boy's soul and the commander of the squad could tell immediately that this kid was no joke. He had a start of the thousand yard stare, oh-so-known for every soldier... He growled, then said "Fine. If you get killed, it ain't on me! Grab your shit and let's move!"

The Romanian smirked, then rushed to grab his AKM and Pistol, slid them both onto his person and followed the American soldiers, running through the desolate and empty streets of the place, where more rubble and broken buildings resided. Getting to the bridge, which was on a narrow street just above a small, frozen body of water, the young Romanian saw a heavily entrenched position, where 8 more soldiers resided. One of them, a light-blonde male with short hair, walked up to the leader and the supposed Lara Croft and nodded, then said "Lawrence. We got a squad of 32 Russian Soldiers. Korra just spotted them coming our way." and he looked to the Romanian, who was forcing himself to hide a smile, then pointed at him and asked "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Let's just say Stray Boy over there is now a temporary member. He volunteered for it." The leader said, pointing back at him. "Anything else we should know, Baird? Any heavy weapons or anything the Reds may be bringing over?"

"No." He answered, shouldering his M1 Carbine. He looked to the boy behind the leader and said "Hey, Stray Boy! How good are ya at hauling ammo?!"

"I can manage!" The Romanian answered, drawing his AKM. "Just tell me where and when you need it!"

"Copy that. Go to Cole! He can give ya the bags and the gear!" Baird nodded, then he pointed at one of the buildings and said "In there! Grab the ammo and get your ass in gear!"

The Romanian smirked, then saluted and started running toward the building, leaving the two soldiers to talk things out. His grin widened after he caught a glimpse of all the soldiers there... He recognized all of them... "MacTavish from Modern Warfare, Baird and probably Augustus Coletrain from Gears of War, Shao Jun from AC, Mako, Bolin, Korra and Asami from Avatar and Lara Croft from Tomb Raider... I think I'm in heaven or something..." And he chuckled like a giddily school girl as he got inside the room where the ammo dump was set up. Several cans and bags of ammo were filled up on a table, behind which a dark-skinned man with a shaved cut stood, loading more rounds into each clip for each weapon, from .45 ACP bullets for the SMGs to 7.92 for the rifles and belts of ammo for the MG nest he saw. The older boy looked to Adrian, then asked "You the one they sent for ammo?"

"Y-Yes, sir." The boy nodded, smiling. "Adrian Marasti. 16... And a Civvie by all means... But if I can do anything to help, I want to."

"Lawrence and Baird told me about it." The boy smirked, nodding, then extended his hand and said "Name's Augustus Cole. Call me Cole or Cole Train. Up to ya." And the two shook hands, Adrian nodding. "Okay, Cole. What ammo should I grab?" making the afro-american boy point at the bench behind him, where two ammo bags and cans resided "Those. Come back for more once you've evenly spread out the gear. I'll be right out too."

"Gotcha." Adrian nodded, grabbing the cans and bags "Be right back." He nodded to Cole, then he ran out. Going into one of the first entrenched positions, to the sight of an American .30 cal. the boy noticed Lara Croft and MacTavish manning it, then nodded to them, pulled out an ammo box that said '.30 cal belts' and handed it to them, then asked "How many boxes do you need for the .30?" to which Lara nodded and said "Two. This is the only .30 cal we got."

The boy nodded, then placed the second box and helped the two open it. Lara nodded to him, then said "Thanks. These'll come in handy." to which Adrian answered with a smile, grabbed the other cans and opened it, revealing Thompson mags. The boy gave five to Lara, set the cap on, then handed a few mags of rifle ammo to MacTavish, who was looking down through the ironsights of an M1 Garand. He nodded, then said "Thanks, kid." And put them into his chest rig. Lara manned the MG, loading the ammo and preparing it. Adrian left the place without saying a word and moved toward a second position, where Korra and Mako were, the former with a Springfield 1903 Rifle, its telescopic sight attached. He nodded to the two, then pulled out ammo and split it evenly to Korra and Mako, meanwhile handing out a few grenades to them.

"Hey, kid." Baird said, walking beside him. Adrian looked up, then asked "Something the matter?" to which Baird shook his head, then handed him an M1 Garand and pointed at his AKM, then added "Just in case you run out of ammo for that. Keep splitting the ammo and then join me and Jack Lawrence in our trench. We're about to dig in. The Reds are coming in hot."

Adrian nodded, took the rifle into a firm grasp and slung it behind his shoulder, grabbed a few Garand clips, then went to the others to split out the ammo. Asami and Bolin, Jack and Baird, the other two and, finally, Cole and Shao Jun. The boy settled into his trench, beside Jack and Baird, then cocked his AKM and looked down the iron sights. He had also gone back and handed out grenades with the help of Cole. Each group had about 20 grenades in their foxhole. Adrian cocked back the bolt of the AR and shouldered it properly, supporting it against the sandbags.

"Steady... Steady! Wait for'em to come to us!" Lawrence cried, looking ahead, his trench gun on his back and a Garand in hand. Looking ahead, Adrian could both hear and see the enemy as boots thumped against the stone road, crushing snow underneath their heels. Clad in brown and green coats, with red epaulettes and thick, padded hats, the Russian Ushankas with the red star on their foreheads. On their backs were assorted Russian World War 2 weapons, as well as a few prototypes from the time. Adrian breathed in as snow began to fall around them and put his hood over his head, then looked to Jack, whose hand was raised, tensing everyone up.

Eyes down the sight, finger on the trigger and the weapon aimed toward the enemy. Adrian's eyes were locked onto a soldier wearing a Commissar's Cap, with a red band. An NKVD Commissar. Stalin's 227 was in effect, then... He growled, then aimed for the head of the officer carrying a Tokarev. There were more behind the first wave. Jack looked to everyone, then said "A bit more... Just a bit..." And, as tension fell to the triggers, he cried "GO!" bringing his palm down onto the sandbag wall. Adrian's rifle roared and the first round struck the Soviet officer square in the head.

The Russians soon scrambled for cover in the rubble-filled street across the bridge, weapons fire impacting and scratching the walls around them, bullets hitting some in the head, so on and so forth. Adrian found himself focusing fire on single Russians on single-shot, determining the patterns and intervals at which they came out and keeping them pinned. He saw Jack and Baird firing away from their weapons, Baird with his M1 Carbine. A shot whispered by Adrian's ear, a sniper having scoped him in. He ducked behind the sandbag as another shot came in and looked to Jack, then yelled "SNIPER! HE'S GOT OUR POSITION ZEROED IN!" before firing blindly over the top. Three bursts of three. Jack nodded, then looked to Korra and gave a cutting motion across his neck and pointed at the sniper, to which the girl nodded and looked down the scope of her rifle again.

Two Russian soldiers with PPsH SMGs opened fire. The Balalaikas' high rate of fire sent a hail of bullets sparking across the walls and striking the sandbags, as well as hitting around the group. Adrian felt a sting on his shoulder and heard some fabric tear, but he ignored it as he kept up the fire from his Assault Rifle, effectively pinning down the Reds behind their rubble. He snarled, then took his right hand away from the grip of the rifle and placed it on his shoulder, feeling warmth. He swore, then said "One of the fucks nicked me!" And he wiped the blood onto a bit of snow beside him.

Jack tossed the boy a can of glass and steel, with a blue gem inside, then said "Ragnaid! Spin the counter below the can and place it next to your wound! It heals anything minor and helps with major wounds!"

Adrian looked toward the Ragnaid with awe. " _Și acum, Valkyria Chronicles... Fir-ar al naibi..."_ He smirked, then spun the container's counter to one, for minor wounds, and placed it by his struck hand, feeling a faint blue aura envelop his hand. His wound stung as it healed, but closed and the bleeding stopped. Jack nodded to him, then said "Keep on firing! You're good now!" And Adrian answered by placing the Ragnaid in the pocket of his N7 hoodie and shouldering the AR, then firing a single shot, right into the chest of a Russian officer who aimed his pistol at them. Two more Russian soldiers fell, gunned down by the .30 in the MG nest and several more received Grenades in their hidey-holes.

Thirteen more Russian soldiers remained and Adrian immediately saw it... They were attaching bayonets and drawing melee weapons. The Officer leading them, the last Commissar, drew his Tokarev, then yelled the classic ' _ZA RODINU_!' before jumping out of cover and rushing ahead. The thirteen Russian soldiers, bayonets tipping their Mosins and spades and knives shining, rushed ahead. What Adrian saw in one's hand shook him to the core... He had an AK47 with a wood butt stock... The man raised the bayonet-tipped weapon, then fired bursts toward them, keeping the MG nest and the snipers pinned, as well as him, Baird and Jack.

Adrian growled angrily, his eyes bloodshot red, then looked to the one carrying an AK, stood up as shots flew around him and shouldered his rifle, scoping in the Ruskies. His hands moved fast, setting the weapon to fully automatic and his finger pulled hard on the trigger. Lead spat out of the mouth of the Assault Rifle. The bullets tore through the Russians and gutted the one with the AK47, focused mostly on him. The Russians' bodies shook and shriveled as shots tore through their insides, spilling their blood on the ice below. The officer and the gunner fell first, then two of the bayonet boys and another one carrying a spade and knife...

His rifle clicked empty...

Adrian looked at the gun and cocked the bolt back, then right at a Russian aiming his rifle toward him and a chill shot up his spine as he saw his head split open, a hole the size of his thumb right between the eyes. The man fell, his blood, skull and brain splattered onto the snow beside his comrades and, finally, the .30 cal roared, gutting through the last enemies with extreme prejudice. Adrian sighed deeply in relief, his tense hands falling limp after he put the AR's strap over his neck, then he walked a staggered, heavy walk toward the dead Russians and glanced at the one with the AK-47... A fucking early time for this weapon to be around, but alas... He picked it up, grabbed the Red's ammo harness and looked back, then yelled "Oi! Lawrence!" to the boy that had threatened him earlier with a Shotgun, then smirked as the tired boy looked toward him and heaved the AK47, throwing it toward him, a weapon which he caught mid-flight and looked at.

"Consider it a gift from your little Romanian Problem." Adrian smirked, to which Jack nodded and said "Thanks..." examining the weapon. He slung it on his back, then nodded to Adrian and said "C'mon. We've set up a temporary HQ at town hall..." panting heavily. Adrian nodded, then started his stroll to follow the American boy and his comrades out of the place. He arranged his glasses, pushing them up onto his nose, then breathed out and held his hand out, to see a snowflake falling onto his hand... He had been so busy with the firefight he didn't even notice snow had begun to fall. He sighed, then nodded and walked beside Jack, rifle cradled in his arms with the safety on.

"Nice work out there... How come you didn't flinch when firing?" Jack asked, looking at him. Adrian nodded and said "I don't know... I just felt like it's them or me." ANd Jack chuckled and said "Said every soldier-boy ever." Ahead of them, the town hall, a bit of a ruin with a part of the roof on the right, collapsed by a shell. The 13 people walked inside, to a toasty, warm air. Adrian looked toward the center of the hall, where a chimney had a fire lit up. Around the main hall of the place, there were a few tables, chairs and extra cans of ammo, as well as grenades and MREs. On the big table, one made of oak, there were several maps overlapping. Of the city, of the Earth and so on and so forth.

Guess these kids were pretty tactical after all...

* * *

 _Translations_

 _Romanian-English_

 _Să vedem... Uniforme ale diviziei 101 din al doilea război mondial... Arme... Vorbesc în Engleză... Fie am ajuns în fața unui grup foarte dedicat de Role-Playeri și reenactment, fie... A doua variantă îmi scapă... - Let's see... World War Two 101st Division uniforms... Weapons as well... They speak English... I'm either in front of a very dedicated Role-Play and Reenactment Group or... I'm not quite sure on the second variant..._

 _Și acum, Valkyria Chronicles... Fir-ar al naibi - And now, Valkyria Chronicles... Fuck me..._

 _Here's the OC file on Adrian. I'll try to get Heinkelboy to give me full personnel files for everyone in Liberty Squad_

 ** _Name:Adrian Marasti_**

 ** _Nicknames:Little Soldier(By parents), Romanian Problem(By Jack, at times), Mobster Killer(By most people), Wandering Heartbroken(By a few American soldiers)_**

 ** _Age:16(In the Soviet-American War)_**

 ** _Nationality:Romanian, later also American_**

 ** _Looks:Slim build, six foot six. Raven hair and green eyes. Thick, rimless eyeglasses, blue shirt, N7 Hoodie replica from his favorite video game series. Blueish jeans and sneakers. (Prior to being inducted into the 101st and Liberty squad, his usual casual attire), classic Paratrooper uniform with a small Romanian flag bandana wrapped around his left forearm. M2 helmet with camo netting and an ace of spades drawn on its front. Has a gruff voice._**

 ** _Personality:More introverted, loner, Patriotic(Can be heard at times humming Romanian military songs), friendly and sociable if approached, down to earth, optimistic, very lucky. Tends to mutter stuff in Romanian angrily when trying to fix something or solve a problem. Very smart._**

 ** _Cl_** ** _ass:Scout and Shocktrooper_**

 ** _Weapons of choice:Colt M1911 and Romanian Berretta Submachine Gun. Romanian-made AKM-47 brought over thanks to transdimensional rift that sent him to Anchorage._**

 ** _Bio:Born in Bucharest in 2000, the young boy found himself within a very nice and laid-back family. For nearly 15 years he'd live a normal life, going to school, meeting friends and even befriending a very nice girl whom he'd spend most of his time at school with, until problems came along. His father got involved with the Mobsters in Romania, interlopers without hearts, by borrowing some money to save one of his own brothers from death. He was unable to pay the debt and found himself with the loan sharks at his door... Things soon degenerated and Adrian was left without a family and forced to work to pay the debt. He'd find himself assisting at the stuff the Interlopers' loan sharks were doing with both dread and anger. Wrought with sadness, dismay and hatred for his current 'boss', the boy managed to sneak a gun out of the Interlopers' armory and confronted the leader of the Loan Sharks. The boy only remembered raising the rifle and firing, before a blue light enveloped him and he wound up in Anchorage. Has a strong dislike of anything mob-related._**

 ** _Likes:Writing fantasy-fiction books, video games, reading and friendly banter, at times singing._**

 ** _Befriends:Jackson Alexander Lawrence(Commander of the Liberty Squad) Calls him Jackie-boy or Jack, Lara Croft(NCO of the squad) and Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole._**

 ** _Dislikes:Mobsters, racists, criminals, political debates._**


	2. Resting

_**Within the Town Hall.**_

Adrian was hunched over the maps, one showing the world with a whole lot of blue and other colors, the blue being America and the other showing Alaska and the current Russian positions outside of Anchorage. How did they get that intel, only god knew, but the boy was more interested in why Canada, Australia, most of the Oceania islands and such were all painted the american pale blue... Much more, why was the Reich currently so fucking ginormous... He'd have to ask those questions, especially the US-related ones, after the fight...

Jack walked beside him, then opened up another map of Anchorage, this one with crosses and circles painted across different areas of the city, then looked to him and said "Listen up. See these markings?" And he pointed at the crosses and circles. Adrian nodded, to which the American boy murmured "Good, good..." before continuing "These are spots we've set up traps in. Trip mines, AT mines, TNT, so on and so forth." Then he pointed at the bridge and said "This is the bridge we just defended... I've had Baird line it up full of TNT, with a detonator wired here." And he finished off, pointing at their end of the bridge.

"Gotcha." Adrian said, looking about. "I'm guessing the bridge goes down when the Russians try to cross it... Speaking of, what kind of troops should we expect?"

"Some 1500 Infantrymen, running in waves at us, as well as a dozen tanks as support." Lara answered calmly, walking beside Jack. Adrian raised his brow, then asked "Tanks... And that many men... And we're, what, 13? Why aren't we falling back?" To which Jack answered promptly "Because if we _do_ fall back, we don't only lose Anchorage... We lose Alaska and probably the entire damn war... The reds have us engaged on many fronts, but Alaska is the most important one. It's an entry into mainland US and, from there, to the rest of the states and the Capital in itself. They'd be rampaging through the entire western seaboard by the time we manage to get a proper response in. By then, it'd be too bloody late."

Adrian sighed, then looked to Lara and Jack and said "So, in short, we let the commies through, we're fucked. But we have to hold ground against an enemy on a near 100 to 1 ratio... Either way you look at it, someone's gonna bite the dust. I ain't planning on it being us and I think neither are you..." And he looked over the map Anchorage one more time, each key point highlighted, each defensive line properly set... He looked to Jack, then asked "Just food for thought... Did you go to West Point?"

Jack, eyes wide, nodded and said "Yeah... And finished it. I was accepted thanks to my dad... Why'd you ask?"

Adrian pointed at the map and said "The planting of bombs at those key locations, the planning of the ambushes and the defensive lines and all that I see there could only be done by a West Point graduate or some high-ranking general." quite proudly, then he continued with a smile and said "I study my military history... At least I studied that of my world... I could put everything that you would require for an operation against the German forces into a simple five-page essay in Romanian and English and give it to Eisenhower. We'd be in Berlin by Christmas if war broke out between you and them."

"Wow..." Lara said, arms crossed. "Alright then..." And Adrian smirked, then said "But this is Jack's command. I ain't jumping in for it." to which Jack merely nodded. "Alright... Onward, gather round, everyone!" He called, making the 'form up' sign. The soldiers walked around the table, their weapons by their hips and helmets off their heads. Jack looked to everyone and said "We're going straight to the point here. Korra, I need you in the Church's bell tower. You and your sniper as well. We need your marksmanship here."

Korra nodded, then raised her rifle and said "Copy that. One shot, one kill!" with a smirk. Jack nodded to her, then looked to Baird and Cole and said "Baird, Asami, I'm gonna need you two running the MG Nest. Did you set up the .30 cal in the square?" a question to which the two immediately answered with nods. Baird added "Yeah. Just as asked." And Jack nodded, then completed "Alright, always be ready to move from one line to the next... We're gonna need mobility and smarts if we're to beat the Reds, since numbers ain't on our side here." And his eyes glanced over to Asami, MacTavish and Cole, then said "You guys. I'm gonna need you doing Hit and Run. Use frags and Bazooka rounds to take out enemy tanks if they happen to take a path we couldn't mine."

"Gotcha." MacTavish said as he shouldered a bag full of M20 Bazooka rounds. He looked to Cole with a wide grin and said "Ready to blow shit up, big guy?" to which the afro-american answered with two nods, grinning, and added "Oh, yeah, boy." quite happily, patting the folded tube of the rocket launcher. Jack gave a calm nod, then looked toward a pair of people Adrian couldn't recognize, a woman with short, dark-blue hair and eyes and a strange shoal made of foam-brown silk, with red accents as well as some odd symbols and a boy with a calm smile, green eyes and black hair. The former was holding an M1 carbine and the other was carrying an M3 Grease Gun. Bolin was sitting right behind them.

"Annabelle, Daniel." Jack said, making the two jump to their feet off their boxes. "You two are gonna be running with Bolin and our Romanian. Resupply, First Aid and combat whenever necessary. Don't forget your Ragnaid bag, Bolin." To which the boy gave Jack a thumbs up and said "Don't worry, boss. I got this." And the girl nodded beside Daniel, then said "True. Don't worry 'bout a thing, mate.", her voice resounding of a thick Australian accent. Annabelle waved Adrian toward them, to which the boy grabbed his rifle and walked up. She nodded to him and said "Keep up and you'll be fine. We're the best damn squad this side of the front." and Daniel patted him on the shoulder, adding his own "True that. You're in the shit with us now."

"Thanks." Adrian nodded, smiling at them. He extended his hand toward Annabell and Daniel, then said "Name's Adrian Marasti. Glad to be working with ya." And Annabelle shook first, then said "Annabelle Marcos, from Australia. The squad's only Darcsen girl for now. And if you're gonna ask for my family name, let's just keep it for after the fight, okay, pal?" To which the boy simply nodded and said "Copy that." and he shook hands with Daniel, to which the man said "Daniel Marks, hailing from Quebec. I'm running scout. Nice to meet ya, Adrian."

"Likewise, Daniel." He answered, then watched Bolin stand up and extend his hand. The boys shook and Bolin said "Guess you already know my name. Bolin." and he smiled "I'll keep you alive on the field, man, so don't worry."

Jack nodded and said "Alright. Acquaintances done..." Jack said, then he looked to Lara and Mako and said "You two are gonna be with me. We're coordinating this and fighting at the same time, so let's stick together... Everyone know their roles?!" He then inquired in a yell, to which they all answered "YESSIR!" And Jack nodded, then said "Good... Get some rest! We've got a long night ahead of us and I don't want to hear complaints of being tired... Mako, be our watchman for the time... I'll have someone switch out with you after 2 hours."

"Gotcha. I'm going now." Mako nodded, shouldered his weapon, a BAR and walked out. Everyone moved slowly and started chatting, eating or going for a silent cot to sleep in, while Lara and Jack walked toward a set of Radios on another table, which Adrian hadn't even noticed. The boy sighed, then walked toward an empty easy chair and planted his but in it, placing his AKM, M1 Garand and pistol on a small coffee table ahead of him. He also removed the ammo harness and rig and placed it on the floor, along with the pistol and he pushed his hood off, breathing raggedly as the heat of the place and the crackling fire finally got to him. He looked up to the tall ceiling and wondered if he could sleep after what he'd just witnessed...

He sighed. Sleep and fatigue would overtake him anyway. After that sudden adrenaline rush from the fight, he'd at least have to get some rest. His eyelids fluttered shut despite some protesting from the boy and, within moments, he found himself snoring, sound asleep... Jack and Lara looked at the boy from afar as the British girl stared on at him, surprised. "He didn't even flinch on pulling the trigger, killed 5 or 7 guys... And now he's sound asleep... Just what has this guy gone through that killing like that doesn't even phase him?" She spoke in a whisper, then looked to Jack, who shrugged and answered "I don't know... And I'm not sure what to think of him yet. He's carrying a Russian weapon after all."

"Yeah... But he did help us." Lara calmly responded. She grabbed her canteen from her rig, opened the cap and downed a swig of water, before setting the thing back. Jack nodded, then said "He did... What reason would the kid have to help us?" he mumbled the final question to himself and looked to Adrian, crossing his arms. He then calmly asked "Were we able to get back in contact with Command?"

Lara shook her head "No. I think the Russians severed our radio lines." And Jack sighed, taking his M1 Helmet off and placing it on the table. "That's just great..." He murmured, leaning onto his hands and rubbing his eyes. Lara sighed, then continued "I wouldn't worry though... I'm sure they heard we and Baker took the hit." and she smiled at Jack, to which the boy looked at her and nodded, then said "Yeah... We wouldn't be fighting if it wasn't the case... Thanks, Lara." And he gave her a light smile. He stood up, then sighed, dusted off his thighs and said "I'm gonna head out for a few... Hold the fort down for me."

"Will do." Lara said. She watched Jack walk away into one of the outer rooms of the building and sighed, then leaned on her hand and turned back to the Radios, to try and establish contact again, even though she knew it was futile... She just had to find something to keep herself busy until the Russians committed the first wave. The girl sighed as she got only static, then leaned her head on the table, on her hands to be exact, and sighed. They could all hear the blizzard that had now started outside. The sounds of the rushing wind, the snow hitting the walls and laying onto the ground, compacting... God knew, things were gonna get cold in Alaska, since it was bloody February. Damn Romanian would best not die out of cold...

She looked back. To hell with that thought. He was laying right next to the crackling fire. She leaned against the table and crossed her arms, then cringed, seeing him twitch. Croft looked to the left, to see Bolin and Korra chatting, with Asami joining in, then stood up and walked toward them, grabbing her M1 helmet and holding it by the edge, revealing her short brown hair, which was caught in a bun. The group looked to see her coming and she extended her hands, then asked "What's going on?"

"Talking about Lawrence's plan." Korra said, cradling her rifle. "Am I the only one who agrees with the Romanian on this? We should be pulling back. Let Eisenhower's army deal with retaking Anchorage. We're kids." To which Lara looked to Korra and said "I don' think you wanna go there, Korra. Jack's been doing a lot to keep us alive. If anything, it's thanks to him we're still around."

"She does have a point there." Bolin said, crossing his arms. "He did have a makeshift plan for getting us out... But who can tell if the next one does save us?"

Lara sighed, then shook her head and said "Can we cut the subject? I came here to ask about your supplies, Bolin. Not to debate if our leader is worth the trouble or not. You got everything you need?"

"Morphine, bandages, Ragnaid, syringes for the morphine... Yeah. I've got all the gear I need." Bolin nodded to the British girl. She nodded, then looked to everyone else and asked "How about Ammo? We good on that department?" and everyone nodded. Korra patted her ammo pouches and said "Got plenty of clips to go for the old Springfield." Asami examined her rifle and said "Yeah. Plenty on me as well." And everyone finished the roll call. She nodded, then said "Alright." and left back for her seat. She shot a short glance toward Adrian, who was fast asleep, then walked without saying a word.

* * *

 _He heard it... The thundering blare of the parade music, the sounds of the boots clashing against the concrete... And he saw them... The sight of his country's infantry, rifles in hand as they slowly marched, the tracks rumbling and crackling against the concrete as the tanks rolled in front of him, pride swelling in his chest, patriotism... Something long gone in today's terms. He felt warmth around his hand and looked beside him, to see the girl. Their families were chatting and not looking... She chose to hold his hand..._

 _The two merely smiled at each-other, then continued looking at the parade... The girl's face was a blur... He could only remember faint details... And the snow around them, pure, white. The thousands of people cheering as the Army made headway under the Triumphal Arch... The thunder of aircraft's jet engines as they flew overhead, rotor blades of choppers and the trundle of engines, a cacophony of military noises and pride. Beside pride of being one of them, he felt his heart skip a beat as the girl leaned her head on his shoulder._

 _Through the drumbeats of the military orchestra, he spoke softly to her, sometimes he made jokes, others he hinted. She smiled, laughed at times... God knew why he felt the way he felt about her. They were friends still, kept in contact through the internet... They were in different high schools however. One could not know what the other was doing... And yet here they were. Friends, talking, close enough to be considered a couple... His feelings must well have been very one-sided... He sighed and said to himself and her "I might be in one of these parades soon..." quite sure of himself_

 _She merely chuckled, unbelieving or unsure, then said, her voice smooth, pleasant "How come?"_

 _He nodded and continued pridefully "I always wanted to be a soldier. It'd be a cool experience, I figure. Alas... Killing's the scary part here."_

 _"That and being killed..." The girl mused, moving a bit closer. Adrian sighed deeply and nodded, sheepish "Yeah... That too."_

 _"Job Hazards... What was that saying a Marine spat out in one of the books you showed me? 'Let's earn some Hazard Pay'..." And the two of them laughed for a bit. He sighed, then said "Well, there's also the rearguard jobs and the ones in your country. Supply Lines, ammo, gear for the Battalion..."_

 _"But you're in it for the adrenaline rush..." She completed, then sighed deeply, then looked to him, weary and scared "You're nearing the age. You'll be 17 soon. Military Stage is just one year away after that... Don't get yourself killed..."_

 _"I don't plan on it. If anything, I'm gonna follow that saying 'Don't die for your country, make them die for theirs'." He responded, and he gave her a reassuring smile as the Humvees of the army passed ahead of him, bearing the tricolor, the Red, Yellow and Blue, as well as machineguns without ammo mounted and pointing upward. The girl chuckled meekly, then said "Alright, Patton. Wake up from your dream and let's keep watching..." And she handed him a pendant "For luck whenever you may need it." to which he nodded and gripped it tightly, then placed it in his Jacket's pocket and said "I'll wear it whenever I'll need it."_

 _"Aww... I wanted to see it on... Ah, Wakeup time..."_

 _Wake up..._

 ** _WAKE UP!_**

Adrian's eyes blasted open and he gasped, snapping his head back. He looked ahead, to see Jack sitting in front of him, rifle slung on his back, then said "Good. You're up... Take Mako's place at the guard post. He's gotta rest too." And Adrian nodded, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He stood up, grabbed his gear, strapped it to himself and walked out. He saw Mako sitting behind some Sandbags over which snow had fallen, binoculars in hand, then walked toward him and called "Thunder" to which Mako swiveled about and said "Flash... You my replacement for tonight?"

Adrian nodded and said "Yeah... Go on inside and take a nap. I'll keep us safe." then took Mako's spot and binoculars as the Detroit boy stood up. He patted Adrian on the shoulder, then started walking and said "Take care." As he slung his BAR over his shoulder. Adrian sighed, sat down and placed the weapon by the box he sat on, grabbed the binoculars and looked out at the horizon as snow continued to fall, a bit more dull than when he fell asleep. The boy sighed, then started tapping his foot involuntarily and murmuring to himself " _Drum bun, drum bun, Toba bate, drum bun brav român, cu sacul în spate și armele-n mâini... Fie ploi, ninsoare, noi mergem voios..._ " And he continued singing as he checked his pockets, then found it... Right where he'd left it. Removing the pendant and chain from its pocket, he examined it... It was a locket of the Order of Mihai Viteazul strapped to a chain, as well as a pair of hearts below it, with writing reading in translation ' _Apart, but together'._ He smiled, then said to it " _Acum s-ar putea să am nevoie de noroc... Dumnezeule mare, de-ar fi și ea aici... E mai bine că nu e..."_ And he sighed, wrapping it around his neck. He tucked it under his shirt, grabbed his rifle, put it on his lap, then continued his watch...

It'd be a long night, indeed...

* * *

 ** _AN:Up-next, comes the siege of Anchorage to its fullest extent... I guess here we go lads! Hope Heink enjoys seeing his OC and friends suffer through hell here... Well, onward._**

 _Romanian-English translations._

 _Drum bun, drum bun, Toba bate, drum bun brav român..._ _cu sacul în spate și armele-n mâini._ _Fie ploi, ninsoare, noi mergem voios...-Godspeed, Godspeed, brave Romanian, Godspeed, with your bag on back and weapons in your hands. In either rain or snow, we happily march on..._

 _Acum s-ar putea să am nevoie de noroc... Dumnezeule mare, de-ar fi și ea aici... E mai bine că nu e...-I may need luck now... Good Lord, if she was here... It's better of she ain't..._


	3. Till the last dying breath!

Stuck in his little foxhole, if you could call it that, weapons on his person and binoculars in hand, Adrian scanned the darkened, cloudy horizon with wide eyes. The roads of the town were clean aside from the rubble and snow that had fallen on them, the bridge at the town square was still intact and Adrian couldn't see the wire worth shit even if he stared at the bridge for an hour. He'd been keeping watch since 17:45 local time and the snowstorm that had died down and flared up over and over within the past three hours had kept him on edge. Any little thing, any snow that moved could well be a Russian scout or sniper sent in to kill them. He'd also refused relief an hour ago from Korra and when asked, the boy merely answered "I'd rather be up with my mind clear, than sleeping and frightened over simple nightmares." and that was enough for the Sniper to leave him alone.

The boy sighed, lowering his binoculars, then pulled out a canteen that the girl came with and uncapped it, then took a quick swig. The water was fucking freezing cold and it was a shock it hadn't already frozen inside the aluminum canister. The boy sighed, then slung it back under his behind to keep it at least partially warm and tucked himself in with a blanket that he had there. He grabbed his AK, cocked the bolt back slightly and saw the rounds inside. 7.62x45mm Ammo, Russian-made(Since he'd emptied the only NATO Clip he had). Good, he still had three clips' worth of ammo before having to resort to using the M1 Garand.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, the boy glanced back, to see Jack, in a blanket and with two cups of food in his hand, the classic indented cups that were also used for coffee during wartime. Jack extended the left-hand cup to Adrian, which he took, along with a spoon and he saw the steam emanating from it. The Romanian nodded and said "Thanks... Take a seat if you want." to which the American joined him in his foxhole, nodding.

Jack took a spoonful of what seemed to be a form of soup, chewed a bit on the boiled vegetables, then looked to Adrian and said "Korra told me you didn't want to switch out. Why's that?" making the Romanian sigh and set the cup beside him, before being able to take a bite. He looked to Jack and answered "Let's just say that I'm afraid of waking up tired because of some nightmares... or some other thoughts." And he looked away toward the bridge, taking the cup once again.

"Thoughts of home, or something?" Jack asked, to which Adrian nodded and said "Something along those lines... Say, Jack, you're appointed CO, right?"

"Yeah." The boy nodded, then he looked out ahead as the snowstorm yet again died down, revealing the farther parts of town, which were more damaged. Adrian drank part of the cup's intake, then handed it to Jack and said "Thanks..." Before deciding to stand up and look about, a bit tense... He sighed, then said to Jack "I have a feeling..." To which the Yankee stood up, rifle drawn and said "Yeah, me too..."

The two heard whistles, coming from above them and looked at each other, then gasped. Jack worriedly and angrily yelled back " ** _INCOMING!_ "** As the first shell landed high, hitting the already-damaged top floor of the house. Shrapnel implanted in the snow around them as Adrian dropped his coat, then he grabbed his weapons and looked to Jack. The American CO nodded and ran inside, followed by the Romanian boy. They busted through the door and saw everyone already up and scrambling for their gear. Lara, helmet on her head and Thompson in hand, rushed toward the two, then asked "The hell was that?! You two okay?!"

"Enemy artillery! They're starting fuckin' early! We're fine, but they got the town hall zeroed in!" Adrian answered in a yell as, outside, Thunder cracked and shells implanted through the ground and around them. Baird smacked Jack on the shoulder, urging him to hurry up, looked to them and said "HURRY UP! WE'VE GOT TO GET TO THE FIRST LINE BEFORE THEY OVERWHELM IT!" And he, Asami, Cole and MacTavish left first. Jack nodded, grabbed his Trench Gun and Garand and yelled "EVERYONE, OUT! OUT! KEEP YOUR HEADS LOW AND FIND YOUR POSITIONS! GO! GO! GO!"

"BOLIN, DANIEL, ANNABELLE! COME ON!" Adrian yelled as the medical and supply team jumped to their feet, weapons drawn and bags full of meds, ammo and explosives on their person. Adrian patted Jack on the shoulder, then said "We'll be out second! Organize, go third and let's kick some ass!" with a wide grin on his face. The American nodded, then said "Go! Go! Go!" to which the Romanian and his friends burst out of the place at record speed, rushing toward the first line as, around them, shells from all varrying ranges of enemy cannons struck the housing, turning it into rubble. Concrete, stone and boiling snow, with mixed in shrapnel, flew around them as the high-caliber 105 shells struck mere meters from them.

"JESUS CHRIST, WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY FIRING AT US WITH?!" Barked Annabelle, keeping her hand on her helmet. Adrian promptly answered "PROBABLY 105! BUT I THINK IT'S A MIX OF CANNONS! NO TWO SHELLS SOUND THE SAME HERE!" as he ran in front of them, basically leading the squad. Annabelle sighed, then said "IF THEY HAVE MORTARS FIRING, THAT MEANS THEY MUST BE NEARBY!"

"I AGREE!" Daniel barked, running beside Adrian at a flat-out sprint and cradling a bag full of ammo. "THEY COULD ALREADY BE IN-TOWN!"

"POSSIBLE, CONSIDERING THE SNOWSTORM'S ERRATIC BEHAVIOR KEPT ME AND MAKO FROM SEEING ANYTHING!" Adrian responded as they ran up and over the bridge and up to the first line of defense, where a hail of bullets responded in kind. Shots bounced off in the darkness, scarring the walls and breaking windows. Adrian fell to his stomach in the middle of the road, then opened fire with the AKM. His muzzle flash was the first to light up in the Americans' side. Three round bursts on anything that moved and was hostile, AKA wherever he saw a muzzle flash and a blur of movement that was aimed at them. He heard a cry for help as a round tore through a Russian's chest, sending him tumbling to the floor.

They heard the telltale sound of the .30 Cal, which Cole and Asami were now manning and they saw red tracers bouncing off the ground and stopping midair. Whenever a round bounced off and stopped its light, the squad immediately poured lead in the pre-determined location. Assorted screaming came from the Reds that got hit with the real ammo and blood pooled in front of Adrian, forcing the boy to stand up and jump into a foxhole next to Annabelle, who was firing from her M1 Carbine, surprisingly calm in the situation. She looked to Adrian as the boy stabilized his Assault Rifle on the sandbag lip of the foxhole, then said jovially "We reap what we sow, Adrian!" To which the boy nodded and said "I think we sowed the wrong seeds!" making Annabelle chuckle lightly, then say "Yeah. Point taken!"

The two heard a scream and looked up and to the left, to see a Red with his bayonet attached to his rifle, rushing them. Adrian turned himself and his weapon to greet him, but the man fell, dropping the rifle and with a hole right through the side of his neck. He grabbed onto the hole and struggled, gargling his own blood and attempting to breathe. Adrian could only hear the noise as the darkness of the streets surrounded them. The shot had been courtesy of Korra, most likely. Bullets struck around them, on the sandbags, on the walls and so on, so forth as the two sides exchanged fire and Artillery still screamed in the air. The cannonade of all calibers of weapons around them was deafening and exhilarating.

Russians fell by the dozen as the focused fire from the teams continued and Adrian was tasked with running resupply for the MG nest. Dashing across the streets, ammunition drums in hand and being covered by Daniel with his M3 Grease Gun, the boy had run fast to avoid being hit and he jumped into the building where the .30 cal and its operators were, unraveled the MG's first pair of belts, handing them out to Baird, then he jumped out of the place as they kept up the pressure on the enemy. The Artillery all but suddenly died and, immediately, they could hear the Russians' trademark scream. _URA!_ Yelled the mass of flesh charging toward them, making Adrian halt and draw his rifle, cock the bolt and look down the iron sights, to see a squad of 20 Russian soldiers charging down range. The first few took shots in the chest, head, legs and even groin as the squad started coming down on them. Adrian started crawling toward Jack's command foxhole, a bit farther back, with a pair of Ammo bags to boot and his weapons strapped to his back.

The boy jumped in beside the three others inside, with Mako firing away from his Thompson as Lara spoke on the radio continuously and Jack held his M1 Garand by the handle, firing too, as to support the squad. The boy left the ammo boxes, one with Thompson mags and one with Garand rounds, on the floor, popped them open, then handed them out and said "What's the noise?"

"Aside from the enemy trying to fuck our day up, nothing!" Jack yelled, shouldering his Garand properly. Adrian placed three clips by the boy's hip, then handed Mako three Thompson clips as well and looked to Lara, who was speaking "CP, CP, this is Charlie Company, Second Platoon! We're the last survivors of the Anchorage garrison and in need of immediate relief! Russian forces are currently besieging Anchorage with only us left as defense! Please, send immediate backup!" And she stopped as only static came back. She smacked the phone angrily onto the floor, swore behind her breath and rubbed her eyes, then said "Radio's still screwed! Can't call anyone!"

"Nothing new there!" Jack answered. He looked to Mako and Adrian, then said "Mako! Get him back to the front and tell the others we're falling back to the second line, right in the square! Have MacTavish blow the bridge after you're all across!"

"Roger! Come on, kid." Mako said, climbing out of the hole and smacking Adrian over the shoulder. The boys both jumped out of the hole and started running, under fire from Russians currently moving through town, but covered by their own. Jack looked to Lara and showed her to put the radio on her back, then he said "We're moving to point Baker! Grab your stuff and let's haul ass!"

Lara nodded, strapping the backpack to her person. Jack jumped out of the hole first, then helped Lara up and started moving back. On the other side of town, the others exchanged fire with Russian forces charging across the roads. Round after round dropped into the boiling snow and fire flashed from the front of their guns. Soon, the telltale sound of the boy's AKM sounded off and three soldiers fell, gripping holes in their chests, jugulars slit by the bullets or other gruesome deaths by gun.

"Took their time!" Cole mused, firing. Adrian jumped into their foxhole and dropped an ammo box, while Mako returned fire with the Thompson toward the advancing Russian units. Adrian drew his AK, racked the bolt and opened fire in support of the .30, firing controlled bursts and nailing soldier after soldier or pinning them down. The Romanian ducked back into the foxhole, then reloaded his AR and yelled to everyone as Mako joined in "WE'RE FALLING BACK! JACK'S ORDERS ARE WE GET ACROSS THE FUCKING BRIDGE AND BLOW IT UP, THEN FALL BACK TO THE SQUARE!"

"ROGER!" The group responded. Soon, he saw a Russian commissar fall by headshot. Following the trail, he gazed upon the belltower, to see the cracks in the glass. Korra, no doubt. The boy climbed out of his foxhole, dragging out the ammo boxes, then he opened fire toward the Russians again. The group took a staggered retreat, leapfrogging from cover point to cover point in two by two and allowing each pair to retreat a few meters.

AN explosion rocked the ground ahead, knocking boiling snow and frozen dirt up into the air. The shockwave knocked Adrian flat onto his back as he tried to swivel about and shoot at the Soviets. He groaned, then pushed himself up with much difficulty, until his eyes locked onto a BT-7 tank, a cruiser tank able of going at up to 60 or 70 miles per hour(He forgot how much that was in kilometers, he only knew it rivaled American muscle cars at this point), but it seemed to be moving slowly, advancing with infantry beside it. He gasped, then yelled back "TANK! WE'VE GOT A FUCKING BT-7 CRUISER TANK, INCOMING!" before rushing to stand up and continue his dash.

He felt something warm trickling down his stomach. Rushing into cover behind a wall, the boy looked down to his belly, to see... Crimson... Shrapnel. Blood... A piece of shrapnel pierced HIS FUCKING SKIN! He started hyperventilating as he slid down the wall, eyes locked on the massive piece of steel lodged into his belly... He'd be dead within minutes at the rate he was bleeding. The fucking Russians killed him! It wasn't the mob that got him killed, it was a straight-up World War 2 in an alternate universe and he died by the hand of FUCKING COMMIES of all people! God damn it, why did he have to wind up in here?!

He gasped, looking up to see Bolin and Mako rushing toward him, with Asami close behind. The woman withdrew a Trench Gun and fired a round of pellets into a Russian that had extended PAST the line, eviscerating him. Bolin took his attention away from the Red whose bowels were now another one's necklace by forcibly dragging his head back, to lock glances.

"Adrian, you're gonna be fine. It's just a little piece of shrapnel that lodged into the side of your stomach, but you have to trust me here! Don't look at the wound!" The boy said, pulling out Ragnaid and a set of clean pliers. Adrian looked down, pale, then screamed as the burning pain finally shot up through him as the adrenaline faded, then asked "Oh, God, am I gonna die here?!"

"You'll be fine, buddy!" Bolin said, then he looked to Asami and said "Help me here! Hold his head and don't let him look!" to which the girl nodded and slung the shotgun onto her back, before grabbing Adrian's attention and saying "Stay with us, pal. You didn't walk all the way to Anchorage just to die in this frozen hellhole, right?" to which the boy, tears flowing down his pallid face, spoke with a raspy voice"Hell no... I didn't come here to die and definitely not by a dirty Commie's fuckin' tank..." and he struggled to breathe. Asami nodded "Good, good. Keep thinkin' like that and you'll be back out and kicking ass..."

An explosion sounded off as Mako took cover beside them, Thompson rattling. Running toward them was Cole, a smoking Bazooka on his shoulder and a smirk on his face. He nodded "Tank's down! Took a few infantrymen down with'em!" before Shao Jun joined, firing from her twin Colt 1911s. She looked to Adrian, cringed, then lied "Doesn't look so bad..." faking a smile.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jun." Adrian groaned... "Bolin, pull the damn thing out of me before I die of fucking Sepsis!"

Annabelle and Daniel rushed up beside them too, with Daniel reacting much the same as Jun. They looked to see Bolin already placing the pliers around the damn thing. Annabelle stood up, firmly planted the butt of her gun into her shoulder and fired. Bolin looked to Adrian and said "This _miiight~_ sting a little..." to which Adrian breathed in and gritted his teeth. Asami took his hand and said "Just grip it as tight as you need 'till the damn thing's out of you."

"PULL!" Bolin yelled as a one sec warning. Adrian soon felt pelt like he'd never felt before surge through his entire torso. His grip tightened so hard around Asami's hand he could swear he heard some snapping of bones coming from it, but a doubtful prospect still. He was too weak to do so at the moment. Looking down, he let go of Asami's hand. The girl shook off the pain, then said "Jesus Christ, you've got a grip..."

The boy chuckled weakly, then said "Sorry..." before feeling his tense, severed muscles heal as a cool stinging feeling covered his wound, doing away with the pain. Looking down, he saw Bolin puting on antiseptic and operating his Ragnaid canister next to the boy's stomach. He saw the wound get cleaned and basically regenerated, with markings still present and some blood still seeping through, part of the wound over which the medic placed a clean compress and pushed it into place, receiving a grunt of pain from Adrian, hopefully the last. Bolin nodded and said "It's okay, but you should take it easy." to which Adrian nodded and stood up, grabbing his AK off the floor and nodding to Mako. The boy dropped his third empty magazine and took cover as Adrian peeked out and opened fire, allowing him to reload.

"Let's fall back, quick!" the Romanian said, looking back. Everyone now rushed the bridge, running across and to the other side. As Adrian and Cole got off the bridge last, Cole made a hand signal toward the bell tower, even with a second tank as close as it was to them, and a shot rang out. The bridge was soon enveloped in fire, taking the infantry and tank with it, breaking apart the ice on the small river below and thus creating an impassable pontoon. Adrian pumped his fist back and smirked, then said "Gotcha, fuckers! Nice shot, Korra..." before standing up and running back with Cole and the others. Three shots rang out again into the evening and several detonations echoed across town. Korra was detonating traps and thinning out the enemy's numbers.

As everyone set up defenses on the second line, Jack and Lara jumped into the trenches with them and the former said "Ready, everyone?!" to which all of them, Adrian included, yelled "HELL YEAH!" with which Cole and Jun set up the .30 cal. Russian forces appeared down a side road, through which they wound up in a bottleneck. The squadron, split into three trenches, fired continuously into the targets. Each trench has been resourcefully supplied with enough ammo for each type of weapon and each barrel let out round after round.

Russian forces began fighting back, some taking cover behind the rubble of the buildings while others were rushing B faster than Adrian could shoot'em. Good thing there were several others with him to supplement firepower. Still, with some 1500 Russians charging down your way and probably more on the way to reinforce, their odds weren't looking too swell.

Adrian continued a barrage of automatic fire from his rifle, shot for shot with the .30's operators. The massive red blob headed toward'em was an easy kill to begin with if so many of them bumrushed at once, so Adrian had no hope of ever missing here. He swept high, aiming for chests and heads. Two lost the latter thanks to the .30's lead flying downrange. A soldier's chest burst open after Adrian landed a pair of shots.

The Russians started making ground as tanks arrived. Two T-34s under escort by a squadron of 30 infantrymen joined the onlsaught. One of the tanks fired its cannon, which narrowly missed the crew and exploded ahead of the trenches, making everyone in the front duck into cover, thus easing the pressure off the Russian army and allowing them to gain ground.

A soldier appeared over Adrian, his eyes bloodshot red and his bayonet glistening. The boy thumbed his pistol from its holster, raised it and shot at the Commie. .45 ACP tore through the Commie's body and he soon fell, blood foaming at his mouth and dirtying his brown coat as he fell over Adrian, his rifle falling just a foot from Adrian's head and implanting itself into the ground. The boy pushed the dead body off, then stood up and grabbed his AK, levelling it to meet the incoming enemy units with fire and fury. Two more Reds that got close took rounds to the legs and finally, right to their noggins as they fell to the floor. Stepping over them, more came. Adrian's gun clicked empty and he checked for an extra clip.

Fuck, he was out. Drawing his Garand, the boy firmly planted the butt of the rifle into his shoulder, raised it and fired once, twice, three times. Another Russian fell into the trench, snow and dirt turning crimson at the group's feet, brass lining the floor and shining crimson and amber, smoking from being fired. the .30 cal's rattle started up again and several Russians fell, mowed down like grass. Continuing to fire his rifle, the Romanian boy blinked as he heard the characteristic _cling_ of the sheet metal clip as it ejected. The boy watched the clip fall to the floor, then knelt, grabbed a magazine from his rig and slid it into place, before racking the bolt back.

He stood up, aimed and shot a Russian right in the nuts. The man screamed in pain, before trying to bring his Mosin Nagant's butt down on the boy's head. Adrian parried the strike, but found himself pinned to the floor as the Russian jumped in, nuts still bleeding as he tried to bash Adrian's head in with the rifle. He watched the bastard, whose eyes were bloodshot red and tear filled, knock his rifle away, before drawing his bayonet from his belt, tossing his rifle aside and raising the bladed weapon to implant it into his chest. Adrian watched the blade come down, grabbing the rusky's hands with his own and struggling to hold back the mongoloid fucker pressing down upon him. The blade touched nothing yet...

But Adrian was still struggling. He groaned and yelled "A LITTLE HELP!" as he tried to push the russian's hands back. The blade got closer and closer... Until its tip touched Adrian's stomach, right under the chest. He began feeling pressure and heard his undershirt tearing up. Looking up, the boy felt his hands going limp as he saw the Russian stare at him with hatred... Soon, a gunshot rang out and the commie's brain was splattered across the right-hand wall. Adrian looked to see Jack, pistol's barrel still smoking. The two nodded to each other, but just as Jack turned, Adrian yelled "LOOK OUT!"

And a bayonet made a massive gash across Jack's right eye, going from the cheekbone up to the forehead. The Romanian drew his pistol and shot the Russian twice, in the head and heart. Jack knocked the dead body off with the side of his pistol, then stood up and held a hand over his right eye, then swore behind his breath and looked to Adrian. The Romanian boy tossed his friend Ragnaid and said "CLEAN IT UP WITH YOUR UNIFORM!" before standing up and firing his rifle.

Adrian saw Bolin jump to help Jack, with MacTavish joining in, carrying three Grenades. John drew a grenade, pulled the pin out and heaved it back, before throwing it up into the sky. It arched and landed, before detonating and shattering a group of six soldiers and wounding two more. Another tank's cannon thundered and a shot nailed an empty building. Lara fired away with her SMG and, from one of the back trenches, Adrian heard the awesome chatter of the BAR, Mako's weapon. The Romanian boy ducked as bullets struck the edge of the trench, before looking upward, aiming the rifle and firing up a soldier's chest cavity, bursting his heart, lungs and finally, head with three good shots. The Russian fell, dead before he even hit the dirt of the trench.

Another bomb sent a flaming heap of steel that was once a BT-7 up into the sky and body parts rained, blood turning snow crimson. A grunt sounded off as Cole received a shot right into the shoulder, that made him twist back and stagger. He growled, then manned the LMG again and returned fire, gutting a few of the Russian troopers rushing again for the trench. More and more came and finally, as grenades started to be flung by the idiot conscripts, Adrian was forced to yell "JACK! GRENADE RAIN!" whilst the damned stick explosives arched up. Jack sighed, then yelled "EVERYONE, TO THE SECOND LINE!"

Cole grabbed the LMG, with the help of MacTavish, then slung his Bazooka on his back and they all jumped out, scattering among the last two trenches. A round struck Adrian in the side just as he was running. He saw blood falling into the snow, but couldn't stop now. He kept running, staggering until he got to a trench with Jack, Lara, Daniel and Annabelle and jumped in. To his right, he saw Jack, with multiple wounds across his stomach, but still breathing and awake, though barely, and Lara with blood on her shoulder, marking where an MG round had struck.

The boy ripped part of his shirt and wrapped it around his wounded side, before walking in a crouch toward Jack and Lara and asking "What happened to you two?!" making Jack glare at him and answer "The Commies shot LMGs at us is what!" before groaning in pain. Lara sighed, then took out her Radio again and said "Third time's a charm!" before ringing. "CP, CP, this is Charlie Company, second Platoon! We're in need of immediate reinforcements in Anchorage! Baker and the defense Garrison here are dead! We're the last unit holding the line in Anchorage! If anyone can hear this, please, for the love of God, send us reinforcements!"

The radio crackled for a moment, then Lara gasped, eyes wide. A nagant round nailed the radio, making sparks fly off of it and leaving a mighty big hole in the backpack. Lara tossed the phone aside in frustration, grabbed her Thompson and shot the Russian who fired at the radio right in the chest. Six bloody holes took the place of the man's torso as he fell to the floor.

"Well, Bolin won't be too happy..." Jack muttered, before standing up and firing too. "Got anything out of it, Lara?!"

"I think the message went through!" The girl smiled. She ducked, dropped her empty mag from the Thomspon, then loaded in a fresh one and stood up. In the tower, Korra scoped in another Commissar, before shooting him and knocking his cap off his head. Up ahead, the young woman saw Ivan coming in from afar with the rest of the troops. She sighed, then muttered to herself "This ain't gonna be good." before shouldering the rifle and firing again, nailing another infantryman.

As the russians finally set up in their old positions and more tanks began to advance, the squad found the need to fall back again, this time toward the town hall. Clouds of lead followed in their wake, hitting the ground, flinging snow and dirt up into the sky. Several mines left behind by the crew went off and dynamite detonated, blocking the paths of many tanks, thus making them funnel their entire unit toward the square's main boulevard. Explosions lit up the abandoned buildings as Red troops tried to advance under the cover of the walls. Anti-Infantry and tripwire mines shattered the windows, taking many with them.

Adrian felt another shot nearly tear off his left arm. The boy jumped into cover and grabbed onto his wounded arm, then growled and stood up, placing his rifle upon the sandbag walls and firing. The terrain ahead was rife with Reds and the boy was forced to cover a retreating Bolin, Asami and Mako. The Commies were relentless as lead flew and hit even the trio running. Bolin wound up with a minor pair of injuries, a cut on his forearm that tore through his uniform and a concussion from falling to the floor after taking the hit. Mako, on the other hand, was more focused-on by the Russians, since he was carrying a BAR. He took a round to his leg and one right through his back, a shot that exited through his stomach as he tried to help his brother. Asami was last and she took the least bit of damage. A torn uniform and a scratch on her cheek from shrapnel.

The trio jumped into cover beside the already wounded Cole and Daniel, both of whom were drawing their last strength now to keep up the fire. Shao Jun survived a shot to the head only due to the sheer luck of it scratching her temple. A narrow miss. Jack, on the other hand, was having the worst luck of them all. He was left with just a pistol as his left hand had been disabled. His right eye's gashing wound was bleeding again and he was forced to hold it shut and one of his legs had a hole the size of his thumb through the thigh. Luckily, the shot'd missed the femoral artery, or Jack would've been in a bodybag by now.

Lara herself had taken a round to the belly, but she was still going strong. Annabelle and Baird were in fighting shape still, aside from not being able to walk, MacTavish looked like hammered shit, but at least he was still helping Cole man the LMG and finally, Daniel was up, firing his M1 Carbine despite blood staining the side of his uniform and the gashes in his head, bleeding.

The Romanian boy muttered something as he fired shot-for-shot with the others, his Garand clinked again as the clip ejected and he ducked back into cover. Utilizing his good hand, he loaded the last M1 Garand clip he had, before looking to everyone and yelling "I'M AT THE LAST CLIP! THIS IS IT, GUYS!" to which Jack checked his rig and told him "SAME HERE!" and Cole responded loudly "LAST BELT! 50 ROUNDS LEFT!"

"Last clips for the Thompson and BAR!" Lara reported for both herself and Mako. The boy nodded weakly, his automatic gun's rattling echoing in short, controlled bursts. Adrian looked down the ironsights of his rifle, then shot once, nailing a Russian officer. He knew he had to make each round count... A Russian tank approached the square... The T32's 76mm gun fired and the round exploded just above them, into the town Hall's second floor. Everyone ducked as rubble fell on top of them. The Romanian felt the stone pebbles bouncing off his head, before looking off to the left as the dust cleared. Jack was still firing his pistol, though weakly and without aim, at the advancing Russian troops. The others barely recovered and finally, they heard the .30 cal click empty... They were down to their last bits of ammo.

Adrian flinched as his clip clinked and fell to the snowy floor. He groaned, then drew his pistol and aimed it, before firing one more shot. Russian soldiers, wide grins on their faces, appeared ahead of everyone, aiming their weapons at them. The 101st Airborne's Charlie Company, down to its last men, would face its doom here, where silence settled, not even with Korra's sniper firing a last defiant round... Unless... A droning noise... Adrian heard the noise of piston-engine aircraft above him... Looking up, Jack, Adrian and Lara saw them...

The Silver Wings with black and white stripes and the US Army Air Force Emblem!

Seven American P-47 Thunderbolts dived in and their rockets howled off their wings, right into the Russian formation. The tank that'd shot at them had its turret flung up into the sky, a charred, dented remnant of the vehicle. Russian soldiers died as the planes' eight .50 cals echoed, muzzles flashed and the guns rattled. Red tracers entered the Russian formation and several soldiers fell, slaughtered by the MGs of the big birds. Following them in were P-51 Mustangs in the same design of Camo. Lead lined the Russian lines and Adrian found purchase. He grabbed a rock off the ground and smacked one of the dumbfound Commies in the head, before kicking him back and grabbing his PPSh and opening fire. The drum magazine felt lighter and lighter as Adrian swept the area ahead, followed by Jack grabbing a Tokarev off a dead Red Commissar and firing too.

Several American GIs clad in winter clothing appeared from the inside of the building. The soldiers were bearing the blue and gray Ying Yang markings of the 29th Infantry Division. Adrian wanted to cheer, but instead, the boy dropped the SMG and fell to the floor, beside everyone else, as they watched a Yankee with a BAR sweeping the area ahead, followed by 12 other soldiers with an assortment of weapons. A soldier appeared ahead of them, bearing the marks of a Lieutenant on his shoulders, saluted them and said "I'm Lieutenant John Dressner, 29th ID. You Charlie Company, or what's left of it?"

"Sir..." Jack nodded weakly "Yessir... Thank God..."

"You guys got here just in time..." Adrian exhaled happily. He looked to Jack, then saw his eyes flutter closed. He gasped, then yelled "BOLIN! WE'RE GONNA NEED HELP HERE!" before looking to see Lara speaking with Jack. She spoke softly, but with worry as she pleaded "Don't... Jack, c'mon! We made it! We survived! Don't you die on me now!"

Adrian sighed, then leaned back and watched Bolin, as wounded as he was, come in to help with Jack. The doctor nodded and said "He's in bad shape, Lara." before gazing upon the Lieutenant and asking "Any hospitals nearby we can take Jack to?!" to which the man nodded and said "You'll have to talk to Major Winters, 101st Easy Company. He's in charge of the whole Battalion you're in now. We'll just sweep the area clear and bring'em over."

Within a few minutes, the entire squad had been rounded up and placed within the wrecked town square as American troops and tanks from the local Garrisons poured in. Adrian watched with glee as M1 Shermans of all kinds drove into town, winter camo on and with several troops on their backs each. The boy'd been bandaged by the Easy Company medics, but he was still hurting like hell... He was sitting next to Cole, Baird and Shao Jun as the least-wounded of the squad. Lara, on the other hand, was beside Jack for most of the time as they boy had seemingly passed out.

"What's their story, anyway?" Adrian asked, tilting his head to Jack and Lara, who was tending to him.

Cole looked to Adrian, then said "Not exactly sure, but you can ask'em when Jack wakes up." and smiled "Nice fighting out there, kiddo."

"Thanks..." Adrian said. He tried to move his left shoulder and immediately regretted it... The arm was on a sling and the boy himself was full of antiseptics and bandages, as well as a tonne of Ragnaid to dull the pain... Didn't much help right now. He still hurt like he'd been fucked by bullets for a considerable amount of time. He had to remove his hoodie and knot the sleeves together around his neck to keep it. His entire torso was covered by bandages and he couldn't even wear a shirt to cover them up.

Approaching the group as they talked, Major Richard 'Dick' Winters and Lieutenant Lewis Nixon, two veterans of the 101st Airborne, spoke about the development. Captain Winters looked over the file of the squad, somewhat intrigued to know all of them were still alive and that they kicked the Russians back enough times for the Army to actually reinforce Anchorage.

"A bunch of kids held the line against 1500 Russians and God knows how many tanks..." Nixon mused, walking beside Winters, his Thompson slung onto his back. The man observed two men of Easy Company going to the kids. Perconte and Lipton shook the group's hands, allowing Nixon to notice an extra kid among them, one who seemed very excited and happy to see the pair.

"Surprising to say the least, but hey..." The Major nodded "Go talk to the ones that are still awake if you want, Nix... I've got to go find Corporal Lawrence and Private Croft. They're apparently 'de-facto' leaders of this squad now." to which Nixon nodded and said "Roger that, Dick. Good luck with that." before he walked toward Perconte and Lipton, to greet the kids. Meanwhile, Dick walked toward a girl who was sitting on a stretcher, next to a boy with a bandage covering his right eye and a blanket, the rest of his body. Beside them was Doc Roe, Easy-Company's medic.

"Private Croft?" Dick asked, taking the blue-eyed girl's attention from the wounded boy for a moment. She nodded and said "Yes?" to which Dick responded "I'm Major Winters, 101st Airborne, E-Company. I'm the Battalion commander now." and he took a knee, looking at the boy on the floor... Lara responded ironically "Sorry I didn't salute, sir... It's just that there's not much left in you after such a fight..."

"I can guess..." Winters sighed, then he pointed to the kid and asked "That corporal Jack Lawrence?"

Lara nodded "Yeah... That's Jack, alright..."

"Doc? He gonna be alright?" Dick asked Roe. The man turned back, then nodded and said "Yeah, he should be fine, sir. Kid's healing surprisingly well after the mess of shots he took. He was more lead than flesh right there. I do still suggest taking him to a surgical unit at the back of our front."

"God bless Ragnaid and good doctors." The Major said, patting Roe on the shoulder. He looked to Lara and said "You heard Doc Roe. He'll be fine."

"Please, make sure of that... He saved us all." Lara pleaded to Roe. The boy nodded, then said "He'll be fine, Private. Just gotta send'em to a M*A*S*H and we'll be in business."

"I'm signing that. We're sending all of you to a MASH for some R&R." Dick said, placing a hand on Lara's shoulder. "Corporal Lawrence's gonna make it and so are the others. Good day, private." and with that, he stood up and saluted "Thank you for holding, also, one more question..." He pointed to Adrian to finish off and asked "Who's that?" to which Lara responded "That's Adrian... A Romanian volunteer that came to help us... Talk to him if you wanna know more."

Winters nodded, then said "Good day..." before leaving to join the group. The closer he got to the team, the more he heard the singing. _"Gory, Gory what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die! Gory, Gory what a hell of a way to die, he ain't gonna jump no more!"_ and soon, he realized it was Perconte and Lipton singing with the Romanian, Private Augustus Cole and Private Baird. Nixon was out checking the other kids of the unit, those who were sitting beside a stopped Halftrack.

The two from Easy immediately saw their CO and stood up, snapping salutes and smiling.

"Sir, good to see ya." Lipton said happily. "We were just singin' up with the kids here."

"I could see that, Lipton." The man nodded, then he looked toward the kids and said "Privates Cole and Baird. Good to know you're alive too." then he glanced toward Adrian with curiosity... And a modicum of respect, apparently "Adrian, correct?" he then asked, to which the Romanian, wide smile on his face, decided to struggle to stand up. He snapped a crisp salute with his uninjured hand and said "Sir, yessir..."

"You feeling well?" Dick asked with courtesy. He was a foreign volunteer after all. Adrian nodded, then quipped "Aside from the pain I'm feeling throughout my entire upper body, sir, yes, I'm fine."

"Pvt. Croft told me you came from Romania, apparently... Didn't the King already conscript everyone of your age to help fight against the Nazis? The Border Skirmishes are getting pretty rough, so I figure you'd need a big military to help." Dick told the boy. Adrian chewed on the thought for a moment, before telling him "Well... Y'know. I was out and about, really. Got here randomly..."

"And you decided just to help..." The Major asked with bewilderment. Adrian simply nodded and said "Yeah... I had a gun, I had the will... I thought I could lend everyone a hand. They needed it badly. I mean, 12 against 1500? Not exactly fair odds." words to which Cole and Baird laughed. Winters looked to the boy, to see the conviction in his eyes and the toothy grin. He was something else...

"Well... In the name of the United States, I wish to thank you for offering to help our squad in need." Winters said with honesty. Adrian nodded, then said "There's a thing I'd like to ask ya, sir, but I might have to take it up with Jack too when he wakes up."

"Oh?" Winters' right brow quirked up questioningly.

"I wish to join up with this squad... Bolster their numbers by one more if possible, Sir." Adrian asked, straightening up into a military posture, his face turning serious. Winters saw that gleam in his eye again... The man nodded and said "I don't think that's a problem. As you said, you'll have to ask Lawrence about it, but if you wish to serve..." He saluted, then extended his hand to Adrian "Welcome to the US Army, Private... I'm gonna need a full name."

Adrian shook the man's hand professionally, then said "Adrian Marasti, sir. Proud to serve!"

"Welcome aboard, Private." Cole said with a smirk. Adrian looked to his friend, then nodded and said "Thanks." before he looked up and collapsed to the floor. The five around him soon dived in to check what was wrong and Perconte yelled "DOC ROE!" thus making the medic rush in. Roe looked over the boy and felt for a pulse... It was still there, but rather faint and erratic. He nodded and said "He's fine... Just needs some rest... Kid is exhausted after all."

"Right... Closest MASH unit is the 4077th. Let's send them all there, Doc. They've earned it..." Winters said, before waving toward a passing set of ambulances and medical buses. The vehicles pulled off to the side and the medics came out of them with stretchers and such, to load every kid of the new squad up. The doctors put Adrian onto the stretcher first, while Doc Roe and another stretcher boy picked up Jack and Lara and took them inside. Those that could walk walked toward the vehicles and got inside. Finally, as everyone was loaded up, the collumn of medical vehicles moved off down another road, escorted by a pair of M3 Lee tanks out of Anchorage.

Thus ended the siege and thus began Adrian's adventure into this realm so similar, yet so very different to his own...


End file.
